Catalog
2 Euros Crete
| Issuer | Hellenic Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 2013 |
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| Currency | Euro (2002-date) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | The standard European common reverse, designed by Luc Luycx, features the large numeral '2' occupying the left portion of the nickel-brass centre, with a stylised map of Europe rendered in relief to the right, showing the continent without internal national borders. The legend EURO is inscribed across the map. The initials LL, denoting the engraver, appear within the design. The outer copper-nickel ring carries twelve stars of the European Union, arranged in groups and separated by fine milled lines in the security edge design. |
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| Additional information |
Greece issued this coin to mark the centenary of Crete's union with the Greek state, formalized in December 1913 after the island spent nearly three centuries under Ottoman rule and a subsequent decade under international administration. The union came not through diplomacy alone — Cretan irregular fighters and the political maneuvering of Eleftherios Venizelos, himself a Cretan, were decisive forces. Venizelos had by 1913 already become Prime Minister of Greece, a position from which he engineered both the Balkan Wars alliances and the final absorption of Crete.
The coin was struck the same year Greece held commemorations for multiple territorial acquisitions from the Balkan Wars, making 2013 an unusually dense year for Greek commemorative issues.